Musings from the CEO of an ethical nutritional supplements company committed to education and community connections.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Mindfulness & Weight Loss Support Group

We published a news item detailing how meditation and mindfulness helped obese women lose weight over the long term. The program helped them change their cortisol levels (that would be the stress chemical that creates all sorts of metabolic mischief) and body fat distribution (less cortisol equals less abdominal body fat).

We decided to check for interest among our members for a "mindfulness for weight loss" support group. We quickly had enough folks interested to make the group a "go."

So, here's the scoop. I'll be leading the group in a series of calls, facilitating mindfulness exercises, assigning readings, encouraging the group to support each other, and, overall, working to cultivate greater integration of mind, body, and emotions in support of weight loss. No silver bullets, just a whole lot of practice within a supportive environment each week! :-)

For those of you who want more information on my background as an coach (certified both as an Integral Coach and a Somatic Leadership Coach), check out my bio on my coaching web site.

Meanwhile, if you're wondering "why all the interest in weight loss" of late, the answer is quite simple. Our mission is not just to sell supplements but to support our community of members, and some of our members are suffering tremendously due to problems with their weight. Other members are the picture of health but their family members need help with weight loss to achieve better health.

We still don't believe in magic pills, and you'll never find Our Health Co-op hyping weight loss fads. However, we've heard the pleas for help so often that we continue to look for meaningful ways to help while staying true to scientifically-grounded approaches to long-term health.

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About Me

I spent years in the high-tech industry, gravitating toward marketing communications and business building. My brother and I bought a small supplement company, Our Health Co-op, in 2002 and continue as a family business. As the CEO, I'm responsible for strategic relationships (consultants, integrative physicians and practitioners, manufacturers, lab testing partner, etc.). I oversee the content that we publish in our newsletter and work to link science (efficacy studies, testing protocols, etc.) to new products.